Complementary Feeding Practices and Nutritional Status Among Infants Aged 6–12 Months in An Indonesian Primary Health-Care Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study

Adequate complementary feeding is important for infant growth and nutritional status. However, the relationship between caregiver-reported feeding practices and anthropometric nutritional status remains unclear in primary health care settings. We investigated complementary feeding practices and their association with nutritional status among infants (6–12 months) attending a primary health care facility in Indonesia. Cross-sectional study of 58 mother–infant pairs with complete feeding questionnaires and anthropometric records from Puskesmas Maradekaya, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Complementary feeding practices were measured using a 23-item questionnaire with four-point response options. Total scores were categorized into researcher defined categories. Nutritional status was determined by World Health Organization weight-for-length Z-scores (WLZ). Associations were tested using Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test. Mean complementary feeding score was 63.78 (SD = 11.12). Feeding practices were poor (36.2%), good (37.9%) and very good (25.9%). Most infants (77.6%) had normal WLZ, 15.5% wasting or severe wasting and 6.9% overweight or obesity; the proportion of infants with WLZ outside normal range increased from 9.5 % in poor feeding to 22.7% and 40.0% in good and very good feeding respectively (p = .088). Complementary feeding practices differed among participating mothers; undernutrition and excess weight-for-length were present although no statistically significant association was found between feeding categories and nutritional status. These results indicate that feeding assessments should be combined with anthropometric monitoring and questionnaire categories interpreted cautiously.